infinitelord1 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 is it possible for the devil to tell the truth........some say god cant commit evil, but can the devil commit good? Is the truth always good or is it best, at times, for the truth to not be revealed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Church Punk Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 After pondering this, these are some of my thoughts. Lucifer was Gods # 1 angel, thus he was good at one point and could tell the truth. So he has the capacity of telling the truth and doing good. However after his turn to evil and causing war in Heaven and being cast down he has become the father of lies. As Jesus tells us, he was a liar in the beginning. So that said I think that the devil has capacity to tell the truth in matters, however only uses parts of the truth to confuse us and propagate his lies. I think we see a good example of these mixed messages all around us. We have parts of the truth being portrayed and shown to us but are mix with blasphemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Adam Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 A few 'revealing' books: The ScrewTape Letters by CS Lewis An Exorcist Tells His Story by Fr. Amorth An Exorcist: More Stories by Fr. Amorth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paphnutius Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 My personal opinion would be that the devil tells half-truths. There will always be some lie of non-truth in anything he says, but there is just enough truth to make it appealing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didacus Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 It is possible to tell a factual truth, yet be lying. If the wall is blue, and I tell you the wall is blue in the hopes that you will not believe me and thus believe the wall is not blue; then by telling the truth, I have lied. I have led you to believe something untrue, even though I used the truth to do it. Thus, yes, it is possible for the devil to tell the truth; but he cannot intend to tell the turth unless it is to deceive others (aka, to lie). Makes sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 It is impossible for the devil to [i]do[/i] good, for to do good is the same as to (momentarily) possess uprightness of will, or justice. But the devil neither has uprightness of will nor Justice at any point in time after the Fall. This, however, does not lead us to say that the Devil is pure evil. Though he cannot [i]do[/i] good, the devil will always [i]be[/i] good, insofar as he exists. For all that exists is a creation of God and so is necessarily good. It is for this reason that the Devil is a house divided against itself. He who seeks to do evil, even absolute evil, will always and forever remain essentially good, and to achieve the absolute purging of all good in a being would result in that being's annihilation - a power only God possesses. Your Brother In Christ, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photosynthesis Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 how can satan BE good though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightofChrist Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Mar 3 2006, 09:24 AM']how can satan BE good though? [right][snapback]902333[/snapback][/right] [/quote] Does not satan still have freewill? Even now he could choose to BE good, though he will not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcceNovaFacioOmni Posted March 3, 2006 Share Posted March 3, 2006 [quote name='photosynthesis' date='Mar 3 2006, 10:24 AM']how can satan BE good though? [right][snapback]902333[/snapback][/right] [/quote] He is the creation of God. He was made good and choses evil. A(n) (fallen) angel cannot change their mind. They made a choice outside of time after their creation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted March 4, 2006 Share Posted March 4, 2006 A few points: 1.) The devil can still "be" good precisely because, as thedude has pointed out, he is now and always will be a creation of God. God cannot create evil, and evil is not a "thing." The devil, and in fact no thing, can "be" evil in the proper sense, because "evil" is not being. Being is good, and "evil" is the lack of a good. So even the Devil, the Prince of Lies, is still "good" insofar as he has the good gift of existence that God has given him. 2.) Satan and all the fallen angels cannot do good. By virtue of their rejection of the justice in which God made them, they deserve no good thing. Thus, whatsoever a fallen angel wills, it wills unjustly. This is true because if the fallen angel were to will an evil, this would be unjust, and if the fallen angel were to will a good, it would necessarily be willing a good that it ought not to have, and so would also be acting unjustly. Your Brother In Christ, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didacus Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Gotta love Anselm! He rocks - big time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quietfire Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Those posts rocked big time. Can anyone suggest good book reading by Anselm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JeffCR07 Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 Anselm is difficult to read without any philosophical background whatsoever. His [i]Prosologion[/i] is short and relatively easy to read. His [i]Monologion[/i] is longer and studies the same subject (the Divine Nature) as the [i]Prosologion[/i], though it does so in a different way. If you really want to get into deep theology, I suggest reading his [i]De Veritate[/i], [i]De Libertate Arbitrii[/i], and [i]De Casu Diaboli[/i], in that order. The three works were intended to be read one after the other as they compliment and build upon each other. Your Brother In Christ, Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Didacus Posted March 6, 2006 Share Posted March 6, 2006 (edited) Carp! I started by readin DeCasu, now De La liberte and what is that third one again?!?! No wonder I was confused so often... lol God bless... Edited March 6, 2006 by Didacus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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